Lasting-machine.



E. I. LA CHAPELLE.

LASTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.19, 1912.

l g'y'y ql 1 a Patented NOV.4, 1913.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

Win @5585; Invenior;

# a. 0M wxfi W6 B 1. LA OHAPELLE.

LASTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19, 1912.

Patented Nov. 4, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Wineases; 5%. 6. KIM/M Q Vl/OI I EUCLID I. 11A CEZAPELLE, 0F BEVERLY MASSACHUSETTS.

LESTING-MAOHINE.

7 Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

Application-filed September 19, 1912. Serial No. 721,125.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EUCLID I. LA CHAP- ELLE, of Beverly, in the county of Essex and State-of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lasting-Machines, of which the followingv is aspecification.

This invention relates to lasting machines and more particularly tosuch machines having a plurality of lasting grippers and fastending inserting devices.

This'invention is illustrated in the drawings as applied to the United States patent to Ronald McFeely, No. 663,777 dated Dec. 11, 1900. This machine is selected as a type of the lasting machines to which this invention may be applied and it is to be understood that the invention may equally well be applied to various other lasting machines.

The object of this invention is to provide a lasting machine having means for setting and for fastening to the last the tip and the adjacent parts of the upper including the seams, in a more satisfactory manner than has heretofore been accomplished.

A novel and important feature of this invention resides in the means by which the upper is held toward the last by certain of the straining means while fastenings are applied to the last at other poiiits which are not held by straining means at this time. It

' is the present custom to release all the straining means before fastening's are applied to the last. This causes the vamp and the tip to spring away from the last before the fastenings have been finally inserted in "the work. This feature of the invention prevents the vamp and the tip from springing away from the last before and when fastenings are inserted, which has been an objectionable feature in machines of this type. It is to be understood that nails or tacks can he dispensed with on the tip or on the toe of the vamp when suitable wipers for the final lasting of the tip or of the toe portion of the vamp are embodied in a machine of this type. as the tip is then held toward the last with string or wire after the said wiping operation. In referring to the sides of a last, it is to be understood that the term "sides may include any portion at the sides of a last from the extreme toe-end back to and including the shank portion. As shown herein 1 preferal'ily engage the vamp at or near the hall part of the last, and hold at ings at other points. With shoes that are provided" with a leather lining I preferably strain and hold the lining. independent of the vamp, before and duringv the fastening operation, by the straining means intended for holding the upper material during the application of fastenings; By hand, the lining is lasted independent of the vamp and fastened, after which the vamp is lasted over the lining and fastened to the last or to the sole .on the last as the case may be.

Other features of the invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art from the following description of the accompanying drawings inwhich:

Figure I is a side elevation of a lasting machine embodying the present invention.

which is shown substantially like that illustrated in the patent to McFeely to which reference has been made. Fig 2 is a detail showing particularly the connections between the grippers and the means for imparting a straining movement thereto. F ig.-

3 is a detailed plan of the gripper actuating levers. Fig.- 4: is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5' of Fig. 1.

The general construction and arrangement of the'laisting machine shown in Fig. 1 may be similar to the machine shown in said patent to McFcely, in which the main shaft 1 carries a cam 2 which is actuated by a cam roll 3 with a reciprocating member 4: which controls the operation of the side grippers. In the embodiment of the invention selected for illustration there are two side grippers 5 and 6 on each side of the lastalthough the number of grippers on each side may be varied as desired. Each of the side grippers is actuated through connection with an actuating lever. This arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 2. A description of the connections of one of the grippers will be sufficient. The gripper 6 for instance, is supported in a plate 7 and actuated by a ball and socket joint 8 with a lever 9. The lever 9 is pivoted on a rod 10 and its rear end is extended and engaged between collars 11 surrounding a rod 12 fixed in the member 4. A spring 13 is provided to hold the rear end of the lever yieldingly downward and to exert a yielding pull on the gripper when the member 4 is depressed from the position shown in Fig. 4. Referring more particularly to F igs. 3 and that point during the application of fastenl 4 it will be seen that the levers l'4--15----l6 are all similar in construction and operation to the lever 9 and each is independently spring pressed respectively by springs 17, 18 and 19. The tension of the springs may be varied independent on one another by the thumb nuts 20. It is desirable in the same cases however, that the springs con trolling the straining power of the grippers 6 which are the tip grippers, shall be stronger than that of the springs actuating the vamp grippers. A toe gripper 22 is constructed and actuated in the same manner as the corresponding part in the patent to Mcheely and is not illustrated in the drawings. The lever actuating the toegripper 22 is indicated in Figs. 3 and 5 at 23. Wipers 24: (Fig. 5) have been broken away from Fig. 1 in order to show the parts covered thereby. The wipers are all similar in con struction and are constructed to be swung inwardly to open the grippers and wipe the vamp, including its tip portion over the bottom of the last and to carry the fastening inserting devices into operative position. It is at present the custom to construct lasting machines of this general character so that all of the grippers are released from engagement with the upper during the inward motion of the wipers and before the fastening means are inserted in the work. The provisions for releasing the grippers are illustrated in Fig. 5. An operation of the wiper carrying arms 25 engaging a finger 26 which projects from the face of the grippers. The construction of the finger may be found more fully in detail by referring to the heretofore mentioned patent. It is suficient for the purposes of the present invention to state that pressing on the finger causes the grippers to release their hold on the work.

In accordance with the feature of the invention which relates to inserting certain of the fastenings while a part of the grippers have released their hold on the work and while the remainder of the grippers are in engagement with the work I provide fastening applying devices, that is, drivers, to a part only of the grippers, as illustrated in the drawings. The two side grippers 6 and the toe grippers are provided with drivers which are shown broken away in Fig. 1 at 27. It

has been explained that the movement of the wiper causes pressure on the finger and in turn causes the grippers to release their hold on the work. The movement of the wipers at the same time positions the fastenings for insertion. I The fastenings are inserted by the well known mechanism which is timed to drive the fastening into the last after the wipers have assumed their position. In or der that the vamp and its tip may be securely held in lace before and during the time the fastenings are being inserted, ll construct the pair of grippers 5 so that they retain their hold upon the work until after v the fastenings have been inserted and they are preferably opened and made to release the work in the normal cycle of the machine as in the patent already mentioned. It is apparent that one pair of the side grippers will hold the "amp to the last while the other of the grippers have released their hold on the work before and during the in sertion of the fastenings. It'is also apparent that the relation between the grippers 6 which engage the side of the tip and the grippers 5 which engage the vamp back of the tip should always be such that the grippers 5 which engage the vamp back of the tip, will hold the vamp and its seams and of course the tip which is secured thereto in lasted position, while the grippers 6 release their hold upon the tip before and during the insertion of fastenings to said tip and to said last. It is apparent from Figs. 1 and 3 that the operator can cause an extra strain on the vamp or on the tip independently of one an other by the manipulation of certain ones of the levers 9, 14, 15, and 16 after the completion of the automatic straining movement of the grippers.

I It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that if desired, fastenings can be inserted in conjunction with the operation of the grippers 5 which engage the vamp back of the tip.

The word upper as commonly understood in the art of shoe making, may include within its meaning the vamp, tip, quarters, the lining, and such stifl'ening or other material as may be placed between the outer part of the shoe and the lining. In amore limited sense, the upper is understood to mean the exterior portions of the finished shoe above the bottom. The word upper as used in this specification and the claims is to be understood to include within its meaning, the lining and such other parts of the shoe as are associated therewith, when the context so permits. In other instances, the lining is specified as being distinct from the upper or external parts of the finished shoe. At the time a turned shoe is lasted, the lining is on the outside of the shoe, that is the relative position of the lining and the vamp is reversed. In this case, the operation of this machine would be the same except that the parts which are described as acting upon the lining would then act upon the vamp. The adaptation of this invention to use on the difierent varieties of shoes such as welts, McKays, or turns will be readily apparentto one skilled in the art to which this invention relates.

In this case wipers similar to the wipers 24. could be used with the grippers 5 and by a proper timing of the wipers the grippers 5 could be made to retain their hold on the work until after the other gri ers had released their hold and the upper'llad been secured after which time the wipers for the grippers 5 could operate to open these grippers and the fasteners could also be inserted in the usual Way at that time. It is not essential, however, to the spirit of the invention that any fastenings shall be inserted in connection with the grippers 5.

Having described my invention, what 1 claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A lasting machine, having, in combination, a plurality of grippers for straining the toe-end and sides'of an upper overa last, means for applying fastenings at the toe-end and at the sides of the upper to secure the upper in lasted condition and means for stopping the action of'some of the grippers while continuing the engagement of the remainder of the grippers before the fastenings are applied.

:2. A lasting machine, having, in combination, two sets of straining means to pull an upper over a last, means for applyin fastenings to hold the upper in lasted condition, means for releasing the engagement of the first set of straining means with the upper before the fastenings are applied and means for releasing the engagement of the second set of straining means with the upper after the fastenings are applied.

3. A lasting machine, having, in combination, grippers for engaging an upper and its lining on a last, additional grippers for engaging the lining, meansto lmpart a pulling movement to all the grippers, means for applying fastenings to hold the upperand its lining in lasted condition a'nd means to release the engagement of the grippers which engage the upper and the lining before thefastenings are applied and during the pulling movement of the grippers which engage the lining.

4. A lasting machine, having, in combination, grippers for engaging an upper on a last, means for actuating the grippers to pull the upper over the last, means for releasing the engagement of some of the grippers while continuing the engagement of the remainder of the grippers, means for applying fastenings at the released points before the remainder of the grippers release their engagement with the upper.

5. A lasting machine,having, in combination, straining means to engage the upper, independent straining means to engage the lining, means for actuating the straining means to strain the upper and the lining, means for applying fastenings to hold the upper and lining in lasted condition, means for releasing the engagement of the straining means acting upon the upper before the fastenings are applied and means for releasing the engagement of the straining means acting uponthe lining after the fastenings are applied.

In testimony whereof, I have aflixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

EUCLID 1. LA .GHAPELLE.

Witnesses H. B. DAVIS,

H. MCDONALD. 

